Sources in media reports say the Motorola's
search for a new head came down to two candidates, including President
Mike
Zafirovski
Mike Zafirovski
. Motorola says Zafirovski will stay on at the company as president on chief operating officer. Zander replaces Motorola's founding family member
Christopher
Galvin
Christopher Galvin
, who faced criticism for Motorola's strategy.

U.S. stocks were looking flat, as the market digests this morning's economic reports. In November, the consumer price index fell unexpectedly by 0.2%, while the core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, fell 0.1%--indicating that inflation levels are at a 38-year low.

Elsewhere, the housing market was buoyed in November by low mortgage rates, with housing starts rising 4.5%, but building permits, which are seen as an indicator of future activity, slipped 5.4%.

In stocks,
Oracle
said its quarterly results improved 15% and forecast stronger sales in the current quarter, as business in the U.S. improves. Meanwhile,
Pier 1 Imports
warned of sluggish same-store sales in December and said it would miss Wall Street expectations for the quarter.

In other news, media reports said
Boeing
might announce the rollout of its marketing campaign for its new 7E7 aircraft, with a possible order from
All Nippon Airways
. With the placement of orders, the midsized aircraft, which will be built in the Seattle suburb of Everett, could begin service at the start of 2008.

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